Chinese scientists have developed a portable drug detector that improves testing speeds from up to several days to a mere three seconds.

Developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the Yunnan Police College and the Ministry of Public Security, the state-of-the-art mass spectrometer is a 13-kilogram (28.7-pound) device measuring 32 centimeters (12.6 inches) long, 32 centimeters (12.6 inches) wide and 24 centimeters (9.45 inches) tall.

According to the scientists, 10 kinds of mixing drugs with a boiling point difference of 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit) can be simultaneously identified in three seconds under a single analysis, Xinhua reported.

So far, the device has successfully identified 37 kinds of drugs in onsite tests carried out in Yunnan province, southwestern China.

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A needle nearly invisible to the naked eye collects the sample from an individual’s personal belongings, which is then analyzed in a machine about the size of a home printer.

The device is capable of detecting drugs in quantities as little as 50 picograms — with 1 picogram equivalent to one trillionth of a gram — CCTV reported.

Li Haiyang, a researcher from the Dalian Institute who led the development of the detector, believes that the days of drug trafficking networks around the world will soon be over.

“The detector can change the war on drugs,” he said, adding that perpetrators will “feel a pinch,” according to the South China Morning Post.

The detector’s sensitivity means any individual who has made contact with drugs is bound to alert authorities. Apparently, it is expected to become standard on public transport.

“Mass production is on the way. We are working with several companies, and large-scale deployment is possible in a few years,” Li said.

A paper detailing the development of the detector, titled “Rapid Screening of Trace Volatile and Nonvolatile Illegal Drugs by Miniature Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry: Synchronized Flash-Thermal-Desorption Purging and Ion Injection,” was published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.